Spanish La Liga football games will be shown for free on UK televisions for the first time thanks to a game-changing deal between La Liga and ITV.
In the new deal, ITV has earned the rights to air one La Liga football game a week and this will continue for the rest of the season. Starting with this weekend’s upcoming Levante versus Real Madrid game which will be shown this Sunday, ITV 4 will not only air the matches in full but will also compile a weekly highlight reel programme.
In a separate arrangement, Premier Sports which is available to those with a Sky Television or Virgin Media subscription will now have access to four La Liga football games a week.
On the new deal, Javier Tebas, president of La Liga said, “This is a fantastic moment for La Liga in the UK and Ireland. The best league in the world will be available to more fans than ever before. We are delighted to welcome Premier Sports and ITV Sport to our broadcaster stable in the UK and Ireland which already includes Eleven Sports. We are reaching the exciting conclusion to the season and millions of viewers will be able to enjoy the best teams and players in the world, as well as the passion and drama of La Liga”.
Currently, fans can watch all La Liga games via Eleven Sports but this new agreement will make the Spanish football games available to a much larger audience.
Football clubs within La Liga include Real Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla and Valencia. This means that UK football fans can expect to see more of the likes of Luis Suárez, Lionel Messi, Daniel Parejo and Sergio Ramos on their televisions.
This news comes after Lionel Messi scored his 50th hat-trick today during a Sevilla versus Barcelona match.